Treatment with oral estrone sulphate in the female climacteric. I. Influence on lipids

Twenty women in the perimenopause were studied for 12 months during which sodium-piperazine-estrone-sulphate 2.5 mg/day was given for 3 weeks out of 4 as a hormone replacement therapy. Blood samples were drawn at the start of therapy, then after 3, 6 and 12 months and analyzed for serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, cholesterol content of high density lipoprotein (HDL) fraction and the relative fatty acid composition of serum lecithin. Triglyceride levels were increased after 3 months (p less than 0.01). After that there was a gradual decline to almost pretreatment levels. Total cholesterol decreased during the latter period of treatment and became virtually normal; significantly lower levels (p less than 0.01) were found at 12 months. The HDL-cholesterol, which constitutes most of the high density lipoprotein fraction, showed a continuous increase and reached statistical significance at 12 months (p less than 0.01). This type of lipoprotein pattern is associated with a reduced risk of ischemic cardiovascular disease. After 3 and 6 months of treatment an increase in the relative content of palmitic acid in serum lecithin was seen, an increase that might indicate an altered liver lecithin synthesis, usually seen in cholestasis. However, after 12 months the palmitic acid level declined and was not significantly altered from the pretreatment value, indicating that the change was transitory.